


Zutara Week '11

by Skylar0Grace



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-10
Updated: 2011-08-10
Packaged: 2017-11-27 13:09:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 1,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/662348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylar0Grace/pseuds/Skylar0Grace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Day01: Mask<br/>Day02: History<br/>Day03: Social Networking<br/>Day04: Secret<br/>Day05: Awkward<br/>Day06: Legendary<br/>Day07: Caught</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mask

**Author's Note:**

> I tried, as I'm sure a lot of people did, to think outside the box and I chased down quotes relating to each of the themes, hoping for a different perspective. For a couple, I found different perspectives but chose another quote altogether that fit with what I had in mind. These are only short and I planned it that way; I didn't want these to be epically long or anything and if I didn't keep them short, I might have ended up using some of the ideas I have for my BB and I'm already in deep enough water with them :P They can all be individual pieces, I guess, but I was loosely going with moments from one fic :P

* * *

  
_“Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.”_  
-James Arthur Baldwin

Zuko's eyes widened as he looked at the fierce, unrepentant girl beside him. As she moved her fingers and watched the man in front of them writhe on the floor, he noticed how markedly different she was from the broken and lost girl he'd flown with just hours before. It amazed him the difference a slip of material made in deceiving one's mind and distracting it from the conscience, especially when it offered a way to not only hide feelings from someone else but to obscure them from yourself.

-

As Zuko ran down the dock behind her, she turned in confusion at the sound of only one set of feet. His face showed no emotion but his eyes betrayed him as he told her that the camp site was empty, their friends gone and only destroyed belongings left behind. The scorch marks in the area had left no doubt in his mind that his siter was behind the attack and as she scrambled up on a concerned Appa, she noted the small lines around his eyes that exposed his concern and fear.


	2. History

* * *

  
_“It's a connection to the past and that's what you build upon.”_  
-Gary Miller

As he tried to salvage what he could of their detroyed belongings, Zuko's mind raced, picturing the battle that would have taken place. There was no indication that Aang had escaped and it wouldn't have been easy to capture him - Zuko knew that from experience. But Azula had always been more vicious and this was no doubt just another reminder that she didn't think him strong enough to lead. He stood abruptly and nodded once to Katara; the person he used to be didn't exist any more and he was adamant that Azula see the one he had become.

_

Katara glanced down at Zuko as he guided Appa across the water beneath them. He held the reigns tight in his hands ans she wondered, not for the first time, just what kind of relationship Zuko had with his sister. She couldn't imagine such a caustic connection between herself and Sokka and was saddened once more when she realised that her friends and family were in danger. The only thing that comforted her was that Aang had survived a hundred years frozen in an iceberg and she was certain that his destiny was far greater than his current predicament.


	3. Social Networking

* * *

  
_“He was going to get a connection — a friend who would give him the benefit of the doubt.”_  
-Jared Paul Stern

He knew he was taking a risk. He was taking an even bigger risk by bringing Katara with him but he knew there was no way she was going to stay behind. He pushed his way through the thick crowds surrounding the busy docks and was comforted by the feeling of her hand in his as he pulled her along. He was glad he wasn't on his own; he could have dealt with it if he had, but there was something comforting about having a friend with you, especially after you'd recently witnessed the incredible power that they hid. His eyes zeroed in on a man sitting at a table in the corner of the room and he knew that between he and Katara their rescue mission would be a success.

_

Although Zuko had brought her with him when he went to meet his contact, he'd released her hand and instructed her to stand in a relatively safe spot until he returned. Noticing the way Zuko's contact interacted with the woman serving him, she was grateful. Katara wondered how Zuko could ever have come into contact with the man sitting in front of him but when he'd reached across and grabbed Zuko by shirt, she guessed 'contact' had been a loose term. Something Zuko said had the man pulling back curiously and although there was no exchange of money, he gave up whatever information he had with merely a nod of the head. She wondered how he made 'friends' so easily.


	4. Secret

* * *

  
_“The human heart has hidden treasures, in secret kept, in silence sealed; The thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures, Whose charms were broken if revealed.”_  
-Charlotte Bronte

The smoke cleared around him and he pulled on the door to his left. Numerous pairs of eyes lighted on him with relief before landing on the girl behind him. Sokka leapt up and gave him a brief hug before whirling his sister around and chattering about how he _knew_ that they would come. Zuko moved instantly to the bound Aang and removed the shackles from his hands and feet. Aang nodded his thanks before he too wrapped his arms around Katara. The rest of the group were already on their feet and making sure the coast was clear for their escape but Zuko couldn't tear his eyes away from the Avatar and the Waterbender nor could he quell the gnawing feeling in his gut that had recently been growing.

_

On the surface she was enraptured with Sokka's version of the battle and their subsequent capture, grinning whenever Suki interrupted with a more accurate description of events. But on the inside she was a mess of emotions and desperately trying to sort them out. A relief so strong it almost made her cry was prominent, and she tried to ignore the tiny voice in her head that told her she had doubted that it might not end as well as it did. But swirling around, in a thread almost too fine to catch was a another emotion, one she knew had deep roots and had been unacknowledged for so long because of the strength it could gain. She looked across at the Firebender opposite her for just a moment before pushing the thread away and focusing on her relief.


	5. Awkward

* * *

  
_“Order is never observed; it is disorder that attracts attention because it is awkward and intrusive.”_  
-Eliphas Levi

He apologised as he accidentally walked straight into her and caused her to drop the plates she had been carrying. With a quick reflex, he caught them before they hit the ground and handed them back to a blushing Katara. She stumbled over an apology while he tried to explain away his clumsiness and they both laughed awkwardly together before he rubbed his neck and pointed to his destination. She pointed in the opposite direction and they briefly nodded at one another before continuing on their original paths.

_

Toph sat in a mostly distracted group, listening to the exchange of the former enemies. Haru leant toward her and explained his interpretation of the scene involving two people who didn't quite know how to be friends but were no longer enemies. He assured her that eventually Zuko and Katara would find their rhythm and that until that happened, there were bound to be a few hiccups. Toph listened as he turned back to the group and joined in on their conversation but she had heard things that Haru hadn't and had a slightly different interpretation. She did agree, though, that eventually the two would find their rhythm.


	6. Legendary

* * *

  
_“The power of love to change bodies is legendary, built into folklore, common sense, and everyday experience. Love moves the flesh, it pushes matter around... Throughout history, "tender loving care" has uniformly been recognized as a valuable element in healing.”_  
-Larry Dossey

The pain he was in had blocked just about every noise but the sound of his sister's insane screams reached his ears and with it came another jolt of pain. As somebody who could redirect lightning, he knew what it felt like to have the electricty course through your veins; it was exhilerating and terrifying at the same time. He wasn't sure how many people been struck by lightning but he wondered if they had felt the same way before they succumbed to death. And then, through the all-encompassing pain, he heard her voice. 

_

Tears fell down her face as she willed her hands to work harder than they ever had before. The water gloves flowed over the charred flesh and she could feel them trying to mend the damage that seemed to continue through his body. The path the lightning had travelled had done the most damage but it had had an effect elsewhere and she once again tried unsuccessfully to curse him for saving her life. She could feel the exact moment when enough healing had occured to alter the amount of pain he was in ans she felt is body relax slightly under her hands. It wasn't enough but it was something.


	7. Caught

* * *

  
_“Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love.”_  
-Mother Teresa

Zuko wrapped his arms around her and spun her in a circle. She squealed gleefully and held onto him tight as he grinned down at her before pressing a soft kiss onto her lips. Her eyes sparkled up at him as he reminded her that he loved her and they both jumped as a bunch of excited people tackled them in a group hug. They separated as Sokka enveloped his sister in a hug and Toph punched him in the shoulder. He had heard the word a million times that day but it hadn't been until that day that he'd truly known the meaning of the word and as he met her blue eyes he knew he couldn't have said it better. 


End file.
